Eastlake Park Community Center unveils NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project in Phoenix

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: BC-CNS-Eastlake Legacy,430.
  • 7 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Vanessa Pimentel
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – When single mother Elizabeth White traveled from Texas to Arizona in 1964 and opened Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe, she never imagined the tremendous impact it would have on the community.

Despite how segregation created hurdles for local businesses, however, White hung on and remained true to serving up traditional dishes. Now, Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe is a Phoenix gem, attracting people from all across the Valley.

White, now 101 years old, is just one of the groundbreaking Phoenix people of color featured on a new mural at the Eastlake Park Community Center, courtesy of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project. The mural is just one part of the project that also refurbished indoor and outdoor basketball courts and a weight room at the center.

Eastlake, known as “Phoenix Park” in the 1890s, has been the focal point of the city’s African American history for much of its existence.

The online history of the Eastlake Park Community Center notes that the park was home of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, and many other events: “The park has been home to many civil rights rallies, visits from civil right leaders and the starting point of all civil rights marches to the Capitol. It is home to the Annual Juneteenth Celebration and the Phoenix Arts Commission Civil Rights Memorial,” according to the history by Phoenix Parks and Recreation.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego thanked the NCAA for choosing Phoenix for the Final Four and for “making sure our entire community gets to be part of this great event.”

Last spring, applications were accepted for the Legacy Project from the Phoenix community at large. The community center was chosen for a grant of $110,000 to refurbish its indoor and outdoor basketball courts and facility.

“As we looked at our options, it was clear that the Eastlake Community Center was a special place,” said Bryn Davis Williams with Degree Deodorant, which sponsored this year’s legacy project.

Gov. Katie Hobbs joined local leaders, NCAA officials, and the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee in unveiling the project.

“I know it’s been a wild few weeks of some stellar basketball, and it’s great to see all of that energy culminating in this week’s games right here in Phoenix,” Hobbs said. “The eyes of the world are on Arizona this week.”

Hobbs said the mural that was a part of the project is in honor of the “pioneers of Eastlake Park.” The mural consisted of 11 people of color who helped shape Phoenix, including Elizabeth White.

“God blessed us with many, many famous people,” White said at Tuesday’s unveiling.

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.

^__=

Elizabeth White, 101, stands in front of the Legacy Project mural painted at Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix after the unveiling of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project, which refurbished indoor and outdoor basketball courts and upgraded other amenities at the center. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego speaks alongside local leaders at Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix on April 2 to unveil the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project, which refurbished indoor and outdoor basketball courts and upgraded other amenities. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

Loved ones of the people featured on the mural at Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix pose with local leaders at the unveiling of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project event on April 2. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

Gov, Katie Hobbs speaks on April 2 at the unveiling of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project, which refurbished indoor and outdoor basketball courts and upgraded other amenities at Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

The NCAA men’s basketball trophy stands in the gym at Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix at the unveiling of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project there on April 2. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

Bryn Davis Williams, representing event sponsor Degree Deodorant, cuts the net off a basketball hoop inside Eastlake Park Community Center in Phoenix at the unveiling of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project event on April 2. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)

From left, Elizabeth White with Larry Warren White Sr., Lincoln Ragsdale Jr., Larry Warren White Jr. and Renee White in front of the mural painted on Eastlake Park Community Center as part of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Legacy Project event on April 2. (Photo by Kayla Mae Jackson/Cronkite News)